The FBM KLCI index lost 8.34 points or 0.45% on Monday. The Finance Index fell 0.58% to 17289.04 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.88% to 1494.29 points and the Plantation Index down 0.45% to 8452.8 points. The market traded within a range of 19.66 points between an intra-day high of 1856.16 and a low of 1836.50 during the session.

The KLCI started the week with a negative note, closing at 8.34 points lower at 1847.3, tracking the losses in Wall Street last Friday. Investor sentiment was cautious amid the decline in China economic data while investors await the US Federal Reserve’s announcement this week for clues of market direction.

Vietnam's benchmark VN Index <.VNI> ended down 0.34 percent on Monday as selling increased near the session's end while investors looked at the portfolio restructuring of two exchange-traded funds'.

Hanoi-based lender Vietcombank led the losses with a 2.46 percent fall, followed by property firm Vingroup that declined 1.8 percent.

"The index is likely to fluctuate largely in high volume this week when two ETFs review their portfolios," said analyst Nguyen Hoang Phuong of Ho Chi Minh City Securities.

The Market Vectors Vietnam and db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam , two major foreign ETFs that trade in Vietnamese equities, are scheduled to end their quarterly portfolio restructurings by Friday.

"Many investors are waiting for the ETFs to finish their review before making any further investment," Phuong said.

He recommended buying when the index corrects, similar to the Monday session, given the positive long-term outlook for the market.

Here is a snapshot of the VN Index at the close
.
VN Index 630.34
PREV. CLOSE 632.5
% CHANGE -0.34%

HIGH 636.65
LOW 630.34

Asean

SE Asia Stocks -Singapore at 1-month low as property shares fall

Southeast Asian stock markets were flat to weaker on Monday as investors weighed in the risks of weak China's factory output data in August and the direction of U.S. monetary policy from the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.

Singapore was an underperformer, with the Straits Times Index sliding 1 percent to 3,312.47, the lowest close since Aug. 14.

Property shares fell, led down by CapitaLand , after data showed sales of private homes by developers in Singapore in August slumped 43 percent from a year earlier.

China's factory output grew at the weakest pace in nearly six years in August while growth in other key sectors also cooled, raising fears the world's second-largest economy may be at risk of a sharp slowdown unless Beijing takes fresh stimulus measures.

It is commonplace in journalism to write two types of articles at the transition point between the year that has passed and the New Year. As this writer qualifies as an “old hand” in observing Thailand with a track record dating back 14 years, it is time take a shot at what may unfold in Thailand in 2011.

The first issue that can’t be answered is the health of Thailand’s beloved King Bhumibol, who is now 83 years old. He is the world's longest reigning monarch, but elaborate birthday celebrations in December failed to mask concern over his health. More